Principals & Principles
By Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Westridge, Rawalpindi
58 “failed” students get into Aitchison College” reads a headline in The News of 18 April 2012. The story, while blaming the Principal of the college for robbing 58 eligible candidates of their right to admission, also mentions the influential support, mostly of the PPP bigwigs, who got the failures admitted in the prestigious college.
The poor Principal’s plight and helplessness to yield to the political mafia remind me of something similar of the years of the yore. The year was 1974, the college - Edwardes College Peshawar - and the principal – Mr. R H Noble. At the start of the admissions the Provincial Education Minister of the then NWFP - George Sikandar Zaman – walked into the office of the Principal and wanted an out-of-the-merit student admitted to the FSc. (Med) class. The Principal explained the college policy of adhering to the merit and declined t o oblige the minister. The semi-literate minister, however, insisted and tried to exert his ministerial pressure. On this, the Prrincipal rose from his seat and donning his felt hat walked out of his office saying, “Sir, You run the college, I am leaving”.
Completely baffled and deflated the perplexed minister didn’t know what to say or do and left the Principal’s office, totally dismayed but properly served.
I suppose the principals then had some principles!
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